This invention relates to a lamp for use with a music stand. More specifically, this invention relates to a lamp for quick and easy mounting in a stable position on any of a wide variety of music stands having different shapes and sizes.
Music stands and the like are widely used for supporting sheet music during a live musical performance. Music stands are available as separate portable items having height-adjustable frame carrying a lower ledge with an upstanding support plate. Alternately, music stands are constructed as part of the musical instrument, such as on a piano or an organ. On pianos and organs, the support plate is typically mounted directly on the instrument, behind and above the keyboard, and the lower ledge for supporting sheet music is provided by the piano or organ housing immediately in front of the support plate. In either event, music stands are manufactured from a wide variety of materials and have a wide variety of decorative sizes and shapes. Moreover, the support plate is often hingedly or pivotally connected with respect to the lower ledge to allow the music stand to be moved to a compact position, or to allow tilt adjustment of the support plate.
It is often desirable to provide a lamp for illuminating sheet music supported on a music stand. To this end, many different music stand lamps have been proposed throughout the prior art. Some of these lamps comprise a separate adjustable stand for supporting a lamp in a position for directing light onto a music stand. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,113,771 and 2,662,164. However, these lamp constructions are relatively large and bulky, and occupy substantial space in the vicinity of the music stand and the performer. Moreover, such lamps are difficult to adjust for proper illumination of the music stand without interfering with the performer.
Some prior art music stand lamps have been proposed which are mounted directly on the support plate of a music stand. Of these lamps, some include clamps for rigidly attaching to the top of the support plate. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,847,051. Other lamps have springably biased clips for snug reception of the top of the music stand support plate. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,949,289 and 3,127,114. All of these lamp constructions are advantageous in that they are relatively compact in size, and provide a source of illumination positioned immediately adjacent to sheet music on the music stand. However, all of these lamp constructions attach to the top or rear of the music stand and include an upper, forwardly extending lamp assembly to provide a relatively top-heavy or unstable construction. Accordingly, the lamp tends to be mounted on the music stand in a relatively unstable position. This is particularly true when the support plate of the music stand is hinged to tilt forwardly with respect to the lower ledge, since the forwardly extending lamp assembly tends to encourage such tilting. Moreover, such prior art lamp constructions generally are not well suited for use with an infinite number of different sizes and shapes of music stands, particularly with ornately shaped music stands of the type found on modern pianos and organs.
The music stand lamp of this invention overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the prior art by providing a music stand lamp which is quickly and easily adjusted in a stable position on music stands having any of a substantially infinite number of sizes and shapes.